Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 4,415 Shares of Oracle Corporation $ORCL

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has increased its stake in Oracle Corporation by 3.9% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 4,415 shares, bringing their total holdings to 118,388 shares valued at approximately $16.55 million.
• Oracle's stock is experiencing positive momentum, with several analysts raising their price targets; Evercore ISI now places the target at $270 while other firms have ratings ranging from "outperform" to "strong-buy".
• In recent insider trading, executive Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares valued at approximately $2.33 million, resulting in a nearly 20% decrease in her ownership of the company stock.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its position in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,388 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,415 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Oracle were worth $16,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ORCL. Tacita Capital Inc lifted its position in shares of Oracle by 6.0% in the first quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 1,245 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Oracle by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 4,333 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock worth $606,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Oracle by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Tiller Private Wealth Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Oracle by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 556 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Oracle by 4.8% in the first quarter. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. now owns 1,562 shares of the enterprise software provider's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Oracle from $215.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Oracle from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Oracle from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Westpark Capital upped their target price on Oracle from $195.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Oracle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $227.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Oracle

In other news, EVP Maria Smith sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.99, for a total transaction of $2,329,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 40,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,507,622.93. This represents a 19.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Sicilia sold 15,880 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.48, for a total transaction of $4,041,142.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 99,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,247,469.76. This represents a 13.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 444,183 shares of company stock worth $86,521,198. 42.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oracle Price Performance

Shares of Oracle stock opened at $235.1560 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $660.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.43. Oracle Corporation has a twelve month low of $118.86 and a twelve month high of $260.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $15.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.58 billion. Oracle had a net margin of 21.68% and a return on equity of 87.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Oracle Corporation will post 5 EPS for the current year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Oracle's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.08%.

Oracle Company Profile

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.

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